- Hardcover: 40 pages
- Publisher: Scholastic Press (Feb 1 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 043921033X
- ISBN-13: 978-0439210331
- Product Dimensions: 26.1 x 23.8 x 1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 590 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#268,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #92 in Books > Teens > Science & Technology > Mathematics
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon.com
How is it possible to count a complicated pattern of strawberry seeds or grapes on a vine or camel humps--in a blink of an eye? If children can open their minds to new ways of perceiving math, anything is possible! Greg Tang shows readers creative ways to use patterns and combinations of numbers to solve math puzzles quickly and effectively. Rather than laboriously counting 24 mushroom slices on a pizza, Tang suggests: "Let me give you some advice, / Just do half and count twice." And in adding the number of dots on a fan: "Instead of seeing groups of threes, / Count by fives and it's a breeze!"
Every two-page spread features cheerful computer-generated art by Harry Briggs, depicting rows of camels, beaches full of seashells, and vines laden with grapes. Tang's witty little accompanying verses tickle the fancy even as they challenge the mind. Guided by hints in the verses, readers find solutions to each math riddle, by looking "askew" to find a pattern, subtracting in order to add, or adding numbers that have easy sums before clustering them to add in groups. Solutions and explanations are provided in the back of the book. With a little creativity and common sense, as opposed to formulas and memorization, Tang believes that all kids can do well in math--and have fun while they're at it. Readers of The Grapes of Math are already ahead of the game. (Ages 6 to 10) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
This clever collection of puzzles could spark the interest of even the mathematically challenged. The first-time collaborators serve up 16 math riddles, and team brisk verses ("Mama mia, pizza pie,/ How many mushrooms do you spy?") with bright computer-generated illustrations to teach problem-solving tricks and strategies. Each riddle offers a clue that nudges readers to look at the problem creatively the aforementioned "Large Pizza to Go!," for instance, hints, "Please don't count them, it's too slow,/ This hot pie was made to go!/ Let me give you some advice,/ Just do half and count it twice," while another riddle suggests, "Instead of seeing groups of threes,/ Count by fives and it's a breeze!" The simple, staccato rhymes and crisp lines of the artwork keep attention focused, while those who find themselves stumped can consult the "Answers" section at the back of the book, which offers an explanation of each problem and shows how to group objects together and look for patterns in order to speed up the calculation process. Whether counting fish, scallops, camel humps or ants at a picnic, this duo's enthusiasm for their subject matter is contagious. Ages 7-10. (Feb.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Of all the creatures in the sea, Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Of all the creatures in the sea, Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Grapes of Math,
By
This review is from: The Grapes of Math (Hardcover)
This book is a collection of 16 illustrated poems. In the back are the complete solutions. Most of the riddles deal with the repeated addition style of multiplication, but with a twist. In an array of five rows and five columns, there may be three missing. So, in order to find the total of 22 quickly, the student is guided to multiply five times five and then subtract the three missing ones.The rhymes are catchy with the question in a different color font to help students when learning to decipher word problems. There is also a tip to the mental math solution following the question. The goal of this book is assisting students in learning to manipulate groups of objects in their mind. I would suggest using a few poems as examples with real manipulatives and demonstrating to students how and why the solution can be found mentally. Read the solution along with them and physically move objects to show how they can multiply and then add or subtract, or even regroup objects. When students begin to catch on, invite them to try some more from the book, and write out the solutions before checking their answers. Advanced students may even want to create their own puzzles and illustrations. As an extra challenge, they can write the poems to go along with it. All of Tang's poems are written in couplets and this has the potential for being a good integration with language arts. Why 5 stars?:
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Grapes of Math: A New Way of Counting,
By Kelly Morgan (Tucson, Arizona) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Grapes of Math (Hardcover)
I am currently a student at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona. I read this book to a third grade student and she loved it! The Grapes of Math has wonderful bright colored pictures that are great for kids as well as rhyming which is fun for them. Each page in the book gives different math problems dealing with animals, food, and everyday objects that make it easier for kids to relate to. The book helps gives students hints on different ways of counting.Instead of counting items one by one, the book gives examples of how to group and pair items together. The pictures in the book helped my student to visualize the groupings and it made it much easier for her to figure out the problems in the book. What is also great about this book is that at the end of the book, the author gave the answers to the math problems in the book and ways to explain how to do them. I reccommed this book for elementary age students.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mind-Opening Math, review by: Pima Community College student,
By "steph726" (Tucson, Az United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Grapes of Math (Hardcover)
This is a great book! The illustrations are eye-catching and vibrant! The rhyming riddles are very clever! Together, the great illustrations and poetic riddles make for a very interesting and fun math book! It is a great book for introducing multiplication to children or for practicing the multiplication skills they already have. It also encourages children to "stretch" their minds and try a whole new approach to problem solving. Rather than counting objects one-by-one, the book urges children to look for patterns and count by easy to handle groups. There are even clearly explained answers in the back, in case you have a hard time figuring it out on your own.I read this book to a third-grader, who struggles in math and is just being introduced to multiplication. For the first couple of riddles he kept trying to count one-by-one and the answers in the back were helpful in showing him a different approach. After awhile he started finding patterns on his own. Once he realized he was "getting the hang of it," his face lit up, he got really excited, and wanted to try some more riddles. By the end of the book he was approaching problem solving in a whole new way and he was really proud of himself! I highly recommend this book!
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